Review of Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) by Cameron J — 18 Mar 2012

Swearing, bleak tension, brutal killings and blonde bombshells. Now that's family-friendly animated entertainment, or at least by the standards of today, after we've lost all of our integrity. Back in the '80s, on the other hand, Disney ruled the animated world... yet still served as one of the stuidos on this film. Okay, maybe I'm giving the '80s too much credit for being family-friendly, because in the even more lenient '70s, some considered "Watership Down" a family film, and it was basically "Cute Cartoon Bunnies Getting Killed: The Motion Picture". I'm just glad "Felidae" isn't getting slapped with the "animated family film" label, because although it has the illusion of being a delightful children's tale, kids don't need to see a bunch of cartoon kitties swear, get down and dirty, conduct cult activities and eviscerate each other. They're going to see it anyways, because kids are a bunch of little punks that people trust with the internet, but that doesn't mean that they need to see that kind of stuff. Now, if they're going to see any noir-mystery, nail-biter of a cartoon, then this is the way to go, because this is pretty darn good, which isn't to say that it's not without its missteps.

As much as I love Robert Zemeckis and his taste in sound design, during the '80s, the guy had to be too quiet or too loud, and sure enough, while there are only a handful of noisy moments, they do roll in and their almost always borderline grating. I know it sounds like a nitpick, especially when you consider that that Charles Campbell's and Louis Edemann's sound design is still pretty top-notch, even if it does get to be a little too much, yet those noisy moments are just too much, lower steam in the film and certainly dilute the cleverness of the film. Something less prominent than the noise, yet still very active and almost just as bothersome are a deal of scenes that go bloated with too much content and material, leaving several moments in the film to lose steam. Sometimes, you need the noise just to wake you up, and if that's not enough...- oh wait, that's it. This is one of those films that plagued by only so many flaws, yet that's almost a mark against it, because unless your "Fight Club", one or two flaws means that there's not much to the film more than it mean that the film is remarkable. Of course, it was the up-and-coming era of Robert Zemeckis, so you can pretty much take it to the bank that there's still going to be plenty that's remarkable. Well, ladies and gentlemen, cash those checks, because, as predicted, Zemeckis delivers on many an aspect; maybe not to where the film itself is phenomenal, but Zemeckis really has engaged through and through though, if nothing else, style.

Then and now, the animation-over-live-action effect is earth-shattering and in this film, it's all but unparalleled in its excellence. The animation's incorporation in this live-action world is so organic and relatively seamless, flowing into this environment as though it was actually a part of it, and for that, let us not only give credit to the fantastic visual effects and animation team for making the effect so convincing, but Robert Zemeckis for really selling that atmosphere of unbias, which isn't to say that he only captures the atmosphere of the universe this film takes place in. Zemeckis also nails the 1940s era, from the products of the time, to the overall feel itself, and as if it's not impressive enough that he manages to blend a familiar world with a world that we've never seen before so comfortably, he also blends genres together pretty tightly while nailing the two very different tones by their own right. More often than not, the film is pure satire, if not just one big homage to the animated slapstick farces from way back when, and he nails both of those comedic aspects with plenty of charm and confidence, yet when the film gets down to the nitty, gritty and genuine noir-y, it's effective, partially thanks to Dean Cundey's handsomely classic cinematography and Alan Silvestri's effectively old-school score, but mostly thanks to Zemeckis' ability to capture that sense of tension, consequence and mystery, regardless of the silliness surrounding it, and when the film is leaving you laughing, it's leaving you on the edge of your seat. Zemeckis pumps this film with charm, intrigue and pretty sharp entertainment value, yet doesn't do it alone. From the colorful voice work - particularly that of Charles Fleischer and Kathleen Turner, both of whom boast surprisingly electric chemstry, though probably because all of us dudes kind of wish that we were that cartoon rabbit with one of the most undeniably hot cartoon babes ever drawn by some creepy artist - to the charismatic live-action performances - particularly that of the effectively villainous Christopher Lloyd, as well as leading man relatively big Danny DeVito-I mean Bob Hoskins -, every performer behind this film captures his or her role and helps in really bringing the charm, tension and general fun of this world to life. It's not a film that particularly blew me away, but in the end, it's hard to get out of this film not charmed by it.

To close this case, there's not enough to the film for it to even have that many flaws, yet what flaws it does have - such as noisiness and some overlong scenes - further slows down its momentum, yet what makes it ultimately upstanding and rewarding is, of course, its fabulous visual style and stellar animation that blends seamlessly in the real world, as well as Robert Zemeckis' effortless ability to capture and blend effective satire and genuine tension as sharply as he captures the era and lively world of this film, and with a colorful cast further supplementing the spirit of the film, "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" is left a consistently entertaining and thoroughly enjoyable experience.

3/5 - Good.